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“We made it through the year!” The present members of Class A cheers as they raise their champagne glasses (filled with Apple Juice, Aizawa would KILL them if he thought they would be irresponsible enough to actually drink) skywards, clinking the dishware against each other.
Not everyone was able to make it to the new years celebration unfortunately. Many had agreed to being with their families to welcome in the new year, and the only ones still left behind were the ones who hadn’t made such plans, or were still at the dorms because that was their family home to them.
For one Izuku Midoriya, it was the circumstances of the holidays. His mother always had extra work around the christmas season, and when it got close to new years, she would always be flown out to visit her husband and Izuku’s father in the states. Izuku was always extended an invitation, but the man was always cold and distant, and it made the future hero uncomfortable, but he wasn’t going to take away from his mother’s happiness. So he would make up an excuse every year as to why he had to stay, and she would go off, while he remained home to bring in the new year by himself.
Kyoka Jirou, the purple haired rock girl of Class 1-A, was in a similar boat. Her parents would often be booked for special performances around the holiday season, and while it made her happy to see her parents successful in their work, it was always a bit lonely around Christmas and New Years. This year was no different, with her folks having been booked for a live performance for once of the celebrations in another city closer towards the northern part of Japan. She stuck to the dorms as well, and was at least a bit happy she got to do so as well, since she was having a good time right now.
Other remaining members included the like of Momo (her family was always busy), Shoto (he would take any excuse he could to not be around his father), Denki (just didn’t want to leave), Tooru (she doesn’t like being home during the holidays for an unsaid reason, and no one pushed her into saying why), and Mina (who had said she had something important she wanted to take care of). The small group of seven had decided to have a small celebration for themselves, some music that Kyoka had picked out playing softly in the background.
The group fell into some light conversation, most of it being how hard this year was, but pride in getting through it. There were some chuckles at times, and a few somber moments as well. But throughout it all, Mina had her eyes glued to two students who would share awkward glances amongst the conversation. Her eyes flickered with mischief, and a plan quickly formed in her head. He eyes trailed to the other students, catching their attention as subtly as she could (which was surprising, considering how loud and boisterous she could be), before she flicked her eyes at her two targets. The others seemed to catch on quick, and Mina grinned.
“Ohhh, man! I can’t believe I forgot my party hats in the main closet!” The pink girl gasped as she jumped up suddenly. “They’re pretty big and heavy, so I might need a couple hands to help me out…” She trailed, hoping to catch at least one of her targets.
“Well, I’m always willing to help!” Izuku stands up, ever present smile on his face.
“Thanks Midori! Now, I think one more person should do it.” Mina continues, looking across the room.
“Ah man, you know what, I’ve got to go get more snacks!” Denki suddenly bolted from the couch, heading towards the kitchen, walking past a now empty spot where Tooru once sat.
“Yaoyorozu, you had mentioned wanting to get more juice, correct? I believe there is some more in the kitchen as well. Let us go check.” Shoto spoke next, the ravenette getting up and walking alongside him towards the kitchen as well.
Mina turns her head towards Kyoka, the girl letting out a sigh. “Alright, let’s go get these hats.” She says dryly, Mina giving a smile in response. She grabs the violette and greenette by the wrists, and drags them out of the commons room with cheer, heading off towards the hallway to the side.
Shoto, Momo, and Denki turn their heads, watching them leave. The floating pile of clothes known as Tooru walks in, her phone in hand. “I went to grab my phone, and everyone was gone! I thought we were going to have Midoriya and Jirou take our pictures!” She whines, the three visible students all shaking their heads in response. “Eh? What did I say?”
“Mina, are you sure those hats are even in here?” Kyoka asks, moving aside someone’s left behind jacket. Izuku stands opposite of her, digging through some boxes. It was surprising how much stuff was in the closet, if Izuku were to voice his opinions.
“Just keep looking! Oh, I think I heard YaoMomo calling me! I’ll be right back!” Mina coos before walking away, the closet door closing behind her. Kyoka rolls her eyes, as she continues to look behind various clothes, Izuku nodding as he continues to shift through boxes.
After a few minutes of looking, Izuku lets out a small gasp, shoving boxes to the side. “Jirou, look what I found!” The green haired boy lets out excitedly, the violette turning to look at him.
“Oh, did you find th-Holy shit.” Kyoka stops herself short, as Izuku pulls up a record player from a box. “Who brought that? I thought I was the only one with an interest in that kind of stuff.”
“Ah, w-well, it’s actually mine. I guess someone must’ve confused it for junk and put it in here.” Izuku says, sifting through the box some more. “Oh, my records are in here too! I’ve been wondering where they were for the longest time! This is great!”
Kyoka lets out a soft chuckle, crossing her arms. “You know, I don’t actually know much about your music taste, Midoriya. I’m kind of curious as to what you’ve got.” Kyoka hums softly to herself for a moment before nodding. “Hey, why don’t we ditch the closet and go listen to some tunes in your room?”
“W-what? But what about Mina’s party hats?” Izuku asks, Kyoka looking to the side with a smirk.
“Knowing Mina, she probably has them in her room closet, and confused it for the main closet. It’s happened before with her nail polish. We’ll tell her to go check, and then rock out to some tunes. What do you say?”
Izuku looks to the side weighing his options. He lets out a sigh, before he puts the records and player back in the box, before placing it to the side. He sorts the other boxes back into place, and puts the main box under his arm, a small smile forming on his face. “Well, no point in arguing with that logic.”
Kyoka smiles, heading over to the door and going to turn the knob… Only for it to get stuck. The two teens look at the handle in shock, before she goes to turn the knob again… And once more it remains stationary. “What the hell?!” She yells, jiggling the handle to the door furiously. “Why won’t it open?!” She shakes the door as hard as she can, only for the exit and entry point to remain closed. “Argh! This is pissing me off! Midoriya, break down the door!”
“W-what?! No way! I don’t want to get in trouble with Aizawa!”
“I’m sure he’d understand if I tell him I told you to do it.”
“Then you’d get in trouble!”
“And?”
“I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me!” Izuku exclaims, Kyoka flinching away at his sudden tone of… Desperation.
Having a quirk that lets you pick up on any multitude of sounds is odd somedays, because of the emotions bursting from the heart and voice that she could pick up on compared to other people… But it’s the weirdest when she hears Izuku’s voice, because it’s always laced with some kind of want when he talks to her.
Not like she’s any better with her own wants.
“So, then what? We just wait for someone to let us out of here? Oh wait, we can just text someone to let us out.” Kyoka goes for her phone, only to find her pockets empty. “Ah, damn it. Midoriya, do you-” She looks at the greenette to find him in the same situation. “Shit. I guess for now we just have to wait, huh?”
Izuku nods, sitting down on the carpeted floor of the closet. “Well, at least we’ve got each other for now. Besides, I’m sure Ashido will come to check on us sooner or later. And the others know we’re in here, so I guess one of them will come check on us eventually.”
Mina sits on the couch next to Tooru and Momo as Denki and Shoto play a racing game on the TV.
“How long do you suppose until one of them confesses?” Momo asks, Mina tilting her head to the side.
“Well, they are both pretty shy, so I’d say a few hours. Might not even be until the New Year. Hey, Todoroki, how much ice did you put on the handle?” The pink girl asks, the peppermint boy looking back at her with his usual deadpan expression.
“Enough.” He says cooly, before returning focus to the game. The three girls look at each other and shrug, content with watching the boys compete for the time being.
Izuku and Kyoka sit in the closet for a bit, Izuku fiddling with the box of records as they sit in silence, looking at his collection after a few months of being apart from it.
“You know… You’re pretty level headed right now.” Kyoka interrupts the quiet, Izuku looking up at her in question. “Well, you’re trapped in a small room with a girl, with no current way out. Knowing you, I was sure you’d be passed out right now.”
“Ah, w-well, I guess that would be the case normally, yeah. B-but, I don’t feel too bad right now. Actually, I feel k-kinda calm right now.” Izuku admits, pulling out one of the records and looking it over.
“Oh, and why’s that? Am I not girly enough to be worth freaking out over?” Kyoka asks with a tinge of venom.
Izuku looks at the girl in confusion. “Girly? Why would that be something to freak out over?”
The violette rolls her eyes. “Well, for starters, I’m not exactly… Filled out, as any of the other girls. Not to mention all of them have likes and interests that most people at least try to look for in girls. Guess I just assumed you thought I wasn’t good enough to freak out over.”
Izuku looks at Kyoka worryingly, setting the record aside. “Jirou, I don’t care about that kind of stuff at all.” He says matter of factly, catching the girl off guard. “Honestly, I’m pretty sure you’ve picked up on the fact I freak out around most people. If I were caught in this situation with anyone else, I’d probably be freaking out for sure. But with you… You have this cool air about you that just tells me it's all going to be okay. Honestly, you kind of remind me of All Might in a way.”
“O-oh?” Kyoka asks, feeling her face flush a bit at the boy's praise.
Izuku nods, looking down in the box with a somber smile. “I-I don’t talk about my past much, as I’m sure you and everyone else have noticed too. Truthfully, it...It wasn’t that good. I was a late bloomer, a-and I got bullied a lot as a result. I became m-meeker, so that it wouldn’t be as bad. Most days the only things that kept me going were my mom, my dream of being a hero… and All Might’s smile.” Izuku looks up, sharing his somber smile with the girl. “And y-you remind me a lot of the smile. A smile that says everything is going to be okay!” The boy cheers, flexing his arms, getting a small giggle out from Kyoka. “Back at the culture festival, when you sang in front of everyone, and gave that super big smile… It was hard to breathe, I was so amazed by how cool you were, and still are.”
Kyoka sits with this new information in silence, her jacks beginning to go haywire, as he grabs onto them. “R-really, I didn’t have it that easy growing up either. My quirk was always considered weak by others, and my looks never really did me any favors… I was picked on pretty often too. But instead of retreating in on myself I… I became as tough as I could, so no one would mess with me.” Kyoka admits, curling up on herself as she lets go of her jacks, and wraps her arms around her legs at the knees. “I figured if I was as tough as a metal band, people would stop messing with me. And it worked! But… But I only realized how lonely it made me feel. Once I got into UA, I allowed myself to act more like me, which I’m pretty much back to my hundred percent, but… But the words those assholes said back in middle school still haunt me. I still feel less than human some days, and I wish I could just put all of that behind me.” Kyoka looks up at Izuku. “But honestly you’re pretty awesome yourself. You go out of your way to help anyone and everyone you can, switching into this Super Serious mode when the time comes, and driving us… Driving me to be better. Not to mention how smart you are. You’re pretty rocking, Midoriya.”
Izuku lets out a small chuckle. “Well, if I’m rocking, then I’d say you’re a Smash Hit, Jirou.” The boy lets out a few more chuckles, the violette smirking a bit.
“Kyoka.” She interrupts, getting the boy to calm down, looking at her inquisitively with a head tilt. “You can just call me Kyoka dude. No nickname like Tsu, and I won’t pressure you. But I really would like you to use Kyoka.”
Izuku looks away with a blush, before his eyes dart back for a moment. “O-Only if you call m-me… Izuku.” He covered his face with his arms, only letting one eye peek out nervously at the girl.
Kyoka scoots over next to the boy, leaning her head against his shoulder. “You got it Izuku.” She says, before the two return to sitting in silence, albeit more comfortably this time.
Mina walks by the closet door, looking at the now dethawed door knob. “Wow, we’re only a few minutes away from New Years.” She says to herself, hoping she’s loud enough to be heard through the door.
Some light shuffling can be heard on the other side, until the door suddenly opens, Kyoka and Izuku stepping out with small smiles on their faces. “Oh man, I was wondering where you two were! I found the party hats in my closet by the way. What were you two doing in there still?”
“Mina, I know when a person is lying. Cut with the bullshit and take us back to the commons. I’m thirsty as hell.” Kyoka says, glaring at the pink girl with a grumble. “What about you Izuku?”
“I could go for some more juice, yeah.” Izuku nods, adjusting the box under his arm. Kyoka smiles, as the two walk off, Mina watching them with a smile.
The three walk into the commons, to see everyone else watching outside the windows, to watch for fireworks. “Looks like it should be soon.” Denki says absentmindedly, looking over at the clock.
Izuku puts down the record box on the coffee table, and moves over to one of the windows, Kyoka opting to stand next to him. The two smile at each other, before Izuku wraps his arm around the girl in a hug. “You know, I think that this is actually the meaning of New Years.”
“Hm?” Kyoka hums questioningly, looking into Izuku’s eyes.
“More than a celebration of one year, it's the celebration of all time being passed. Going through the New Year is just a reset for life, cause it can be the start you want, or just another day in your life. I-If that makes any sense.”
“Ten! Nine! Eight!” The other students begin to count, looking outside the window.
“Yeah… I think I get it.” Kyoka says, as Izuku turns to look at her in the eyes too.
“Seven! Six! Five!”
Kyoka and Izuku look at each other in their own silence, their worlds uninterrupted by the others.
“Four! Three! Two!”
And as fireworks begin to pop off in the distance, Kyoka whips her jacks around Izuku’s neck, and drags him down into a kiss, which is soon reciprocated by the green haired teen, who finds himself cupping the girl's cheek. It's a moment that felt so special and so right, that funnily enough, the only word they could ever use to describe the experience with is… Fireworks.
“Happy New Year!” The students cheer, as Izuku and Kyoka break away from the kiss, gazes never leaving the other.
“Hey, did you still want to go listen to that music?” Izuku asks, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
Kyoka giggles. “Yeah, I’d love that, Izuku.”
And as the two walk off, Izuku grabbing the record box as they do, one pink girl watches from the side, glass of apple juice in hand. “Well, I’d say that went pretty spectacularly.” Mina says to herself, before returning to the group. And, as Kyoka heard her as they left, she silently agreed with Mina.
That was indeed spectacular.